My first Author interview for this blog is with a wonderful Debut YA Author Saie.S.Forsythe. Here she shares her thoughts and insights in to her literary world............

Welcome Sadie thanks for talking to us today and letting us have a little insight into you and your book.

Q: Tell us about most recent book ………………

It’s my first book, The Weeping empress.

Q: What’s your genre and why did you choose it?

Well, I call it epic fantasy because my main character, Chiyo, is on a quest of epic proportions. It’s fairly light on the fantasy, thoughno dragons or magicians or … gnomes. What it does have is a mysterious cult with an unusual penchant for snakes, an all-powerful Goddess of questionable intent, and some pretty awesome swordplay. 
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I’m not married to fantasy. This book is a fantasy book because that’s where the story fits. The next might be sci-fi or steampunk. It’s pretty unlikely that I will ever write mainstream fiction, but it’s also unlikely that I’ll commit myself wholly to the one genre.

Q: What’s the biggest obstacle you faced with your writing journey?

Convincing myself that I wasn’t just writing an unusually long story, but an actual book. Writing a story is a hobby (at least for me). Writing a book is a job that requires time, dedication, and steely determination. I had a hard time identifying exactly when I transferred from one to the other. It’s pretty hard to deny once you have an actual product in hand though.

Q: Where do you get your ideas and inspiration?

Oh gosh, everywhere and nowhere. I’m constantly looking at things and wondering how I could accurately describe it to someone. Every conversation, personal emotion and everyday experience is fodder for a story. Other times I’ll write something down and then look at it with no clue where it escaped from.

Q: Who or what are your influences?

Too many to nameI’m still an avid reader, and I make a point of dabbling in everything. I try to alternate between a fun book and something edifying.  The Weeping Empress takes a lot of influence from Japanese art. I have a lot of appreciation for the concept of Bushido and this comes through in the story. Adult readers who share my love of the culture will enjoy the book, but I think the younger readers who are enamoured with anime and manga will get a real kick out of it too. I think both types of readers will recognise some familiar archetypes in it. 
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Q: Are you self-published, legacy or a combination?

Self-published

Q: What was the hardest part of your self-publishing journey?

Presenting my work to the reading world, stepping back and waiting for their response.

Q: What format is your book available in?

Pretty much every format: hardback, paperback, and all of the e-formats.

Q: How many books have you published so far?

Only the oneIt took close to three years to bring it to life, so there hasn’t been much opportunity for a second one yet. 
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Q: What things did you outsource, if any at all?

In this I took a lesson from my grandfather-in-law. He was an accountant, but refused to do anything that wasn’t explicitly his job. He thought that every man should do what he was good at. So, whenever there was a chore that needed to be done his response was always “I’ll do another hour of books, hire someone to do it.”

I’m self-published in the sense that I wrote and financed The Weeping Empress, but I can’t claim to have done every aspect of it by myself like some people can. I respect people who do, but I made use of every professional I could lay my hands on. I agonized over every word, wrote, re-wrote, proofed, edited and wrote it again. Then I handed it over to a band of professionals to edit, format, design a cover for, and print. I did my job and let them do theirs.

Q: What’s the best bit of advice you received when starting out?

Get as many people as possible to read it as you write it. Don’t wait until it’s finished. I didn’t do it. I was too shy about my writing, but it created so much more work for me on the tail end. By the time I sent it to beta readers it was predominantly finished and it was harder to make necessary corrections than it would have been to do it as I went along.

Q: What advice would you offer to the future Debut Authors out there?

It’s really hard to hand your literary baby over to someone else, especially when it is still rough, but the more often you do the better it will be in the end.

Q: What’s next for you? Any projects in the pipeline for us to look forward to?

The Weeping Empress is a stand-alone story, but it is also the first of two books. Actually, I always envisioned it as one long story. But what new author gets to publish a 500-page first novel in this day and age? It doesn’t have a title yet, but I am already sloggin’ away at the keys writing part two.

Q: Any favourite Author that you are a fan of and would recommend?

Well that depends on what genre you are interested in. I’m a particular fan of the sci-fi classics. I love, love, love, love the first of the Dune books. Frank Herbert had an amazing ability to string a tale. Isaac Asimov is another one I hold in high regard. His stories are just so meticulous. I also love a little fluff now and then. Recently I have to admit to enjoying Charlene Harris and Anne Rice. (I always did love a vampire.)

Q: Give us one of your favourite quotes……………….

My all-time favourite quote is “There is pleasure sure in being mad which none but madmen know.” (Dryden) Isn’t it so true?

Q: And finally tell us something random about yourself to make us chuckle………………………….

The S. in Sadie S. Forsythe stands for Saussy. Yeah, my parents were Hippies. 


I will be reviewing the The Weeping Empress soon so keep your eyes peeled for my thoughts.

The Weeping Empress is available by the following links.................

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0072W1LJ8 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13390709-the-weeping-empress